[A/N written by MusicKeeper, AKA Amy. XD]
A/N: Well, 'ello, everyone! Amy here (yes, I know, I was referred to as MK in the last chapter, yada yada yada, but with a new year comes a new identity)! Anyway, SO SORRY about the long wait! I got busy. With too many things. Like my church's Christmas play, Christmas itself, discovering Doctor Who, fangirling, discovering Sherlock, fangirling, etc. You should know I can be an ABOMINADABLE procrastinator. XD But this year, my resolution was to update more frequently and consistently. So far, I have kept that resolution with my story Eyes Open being updated twice in two weeks, and ... all right, I'm rambling again. Anyway, I wrote this chapter, and I hope all you peoples of the earth enjoy!
Starr walked briskly behind her new captain, her boots clicking on the floor. On the outside, she was a young woman happy to be assigned to the Enterprise. However, while she was overjoyed over that fact, she was mentally kicking herself for the way her first meeting with Jim Kirk had gone. They had gotten off on the wrong foot, and now Starr was panicking over what he now thought of her. So much for a first impression, she thought sullenly to herself.
Starr was still having trouble grasping the fact that this man, more boyish than mature, was captain of the Enterprise, the finest ship in Starfleet. He was certainly one to talk of her age, for he couldn't be more than one or two years older than she! At least I'm not as silly and immature.
Her new captain, Jim Kirk, turned around to face Starr. "Hurry up—I want to show you the crew and the people who you'll be working with from now on before we take off," he said.
Starr rolled her eyes at Captain Kirk's bossiness but followed his orders. After all, she did wish to meet her companions. She had heard that the Enterprise was going on a five-year mission after this one—she might as well learn everything she could about her fellow crewmates.
"Attention, crew!" Captain Kirk said loudly when the two arrived at the bridge, smirking. Automatically, multiple pairs of eyes snapped towards the captain and his new companion. Starr blushed a little at the sudden attention. She raised her chin a little, held her shoulders back, and stood proudly at the captain's side.
A couple of warm smiles were given—if not slightly awkward grins. Captain Kirk then continued, "This is Starr...Kennedy...?" He paused as Starr rolled her eyes and then grinned sheepishly. "She's just arrived on the Enterprise and will now be taking part in our missions from now on. I expect everyone to treat her well."
Starr gave a little wave. "Hello," she said, a little nervously. She noticed a young sandy-haired boy at the controls smile a little at her. This gave her confidence, and she burst into a grin.
"Ah—Starr, this is Pavel. Like you, he came out of the Academy at a young age. I'm sure you two will get along just fine." Captain Kirk said, nudging Starr towards the young navigator.
Starr glanced over her shoulder at Captain Kirk before continuing toward Pavel. "Hello," she said timidly, holding out her hand.
"Hello!" Pavel said in his usual cheerful voice. "I am Pavel Chekov, nice to meet you."
Starr smiled. "The pleasure is mine," she said politely. "What is your job on the ship?"
"I'm a navigator." Pavel said, grinning proudly.
"It sounds wonderful," Starr offered.
"It is. What is your job?" Pavel asked politely.
"I have been assigned to be a science officer. I hear Commander Spock is also in that department and am looking forward to meeting him."
"If you want to meet him, you should find him right there." Pavel replied, pointing over to the Vulcan's station.
Starr shook her head. "I'm sure the captain has a task for me. I should probably stop idling and get to work." She waved as she turned around. "It was good to meet you, Pavel. I trust we shall see each other again soon?"
"Of course." Pavel said, smiling.
Starr smiled to herself as she turned toward the captain's chair. Pavel was a nice boy. However, it was time to put her personal thoughts aside and turn to the real reason she was here. "What are my orders, Captain Kirk?" she asked, standing at attention.
"Get yourself prepared—go to your station and buckle up," said the captain, smiling.
"Yes, sir." Starr strode over to her station and sat down. After buckling up, she clicked a few buttons, making sure all systems were in order.
"Scotty, are we good to go?" Captain Kirk asked after pressing the comm button located on his chair.
"Warp ready and available at your command, Captain," the crew heard the Chief Engineer reply. It was shortly followed with a faint, "Get down!"
Starr raised an eyebrow and quietly snickered as she waited for Captain Kirk's command. He sighed and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Mr. Sulu," he called from the chair and nodded to the navigator. "Punch it—maximum warp."
Starr wriggled a little in her seat, bracing herself for the jerk. This is it! My first mission on the Enterprise!
"Aye, Captain," Sulu said, turning around and pushing forward the small thruster. Starr held on to her seat as the Enterprise jumped to warp speed.
As the ship entered the blue tunnel of light, Captain Kirk began to spin around in his seat. Starr gritted her teeth as she continued to work. She could see him spinning in his chair out of the corner of her eye. She found his antics quite annoying, but she did not wish to say anything and offend him.
Finally, it was too much. Starr turned in her seat to face the captain and said, "Captain Kirk, could you please stop your spinning? It is a distraction to me and I should like to be focused completely on my work."
Captain Kirk only smirked over at her and says, "Then just face away."
The casual way in which Kirk spoke, as if her opinion didn't even matter, infuriated Starr. She took a breath to calm herself. "Captain, I am doing my best. However, I can still see you out of the corner of my eye."
"Turn your back completely around, then," said Captain Kirk, making a circling motion with a finger.
It was all Starr could do to not throw her hands up in frustration. "Captain, I AM turned completely around!" she exclaimed, turning her chair all the way around so the captain could see. "You are still slightly to my right. You are right …there," she said, pointing to him without turning around.
"I don't know what you're—" Captain Kirk started to protest and at last, Spock stood up, placing both hands on the captain's shoulders to keep him from turning.
"Captain, might I suggest for you to cease this action? Our new officer is not the only one who is distracted by your motives." he said quietly.
Starr sighed in relief. "Thank you, sir. I was beginning to worry I'd have to tighten the bolts on that chair."
"It is quite alright." Spock said passively.
Starr smiled a little before turning back to the screen. Jim sighed and rolled his eyes, instead tapping his fingers on the armrest.
Starr suddenly leaned closer to the screen. "Captain, we're being hailed from Miralia. Should I respond?"
"Affirmative."
Starr pressed a button, and a humanoid appeared on the viewscreen. The male was tall, with a commanding carriage and stern expression on his face. Skin ever so slightly tinted green made him look sick, and dark diamond tattoos adorned his chin. "Captain," the man acknowledged Kirk with a nod of his head.
Starr gasped a little. Even though she should've been used to meeting new aliens and odd creatures of all sorts, it still surprised her every time she came into contact with a new life form. Kirk looked over at her before turning back to the viewscreen and placing his hands in his lap. "I am Captain James Kirk of the USS Enterprise," he told the man with authority. "To whom am I speaking?"
"I am Arren Onndri, the ruler of Miralia. We have found your ship orbiting the planet on our scanners," Arren answered Kirk coldly.
Starr couldn't keep silent. "What do you want?" she blurted out, not trusting Arren. Her face turned pink as soon as the words were out. And of course, I can't keep my mouth shut, she thought to herself, incredibly embarrassed.
Arren turned his head a little to cast a cold glare at Starr. "We wish to preserve our own cultural ways, Captain," he said in a monotone. While his words were directed toward Kirk, he kept his eyes fixed expressionlessly on Starr. "And we do not require any help from Starfleet."
Starr glared defiantly right back at Arren. "We don't intend to interfere with your culture, sir," she hissed, eyes narrowed menacingly. "We only intend to observe and record our findings. We shall be on our way back to Starfleet in less than a week if all goes relatively smoothly."
"Starr..." Kirk muttered warningly from the corner of his mouth. However, he continued, "My officer is correct - we will be making no changes to your planet or your culture."
"I refuse you permission to beam down," Arren argued sternly. "I am ruler of this planet, and defiance will not be tolerated."
"Understood," Kirk said calmly.
"You have been warned, Captain," Arren stated coolly. "I would suggest you obey." The call disconnected, and the screen went blank.
Starr leaned back in her seat and sighed, extremely frustrated with herself. What is it with my incessant need to run my mouth? she thought indignantly.
The Vulcan Pavel had pointed out earlier, Commander Spock, spoke. "Permission to speak, Captain?"
The Captain turned to face Spock. "Of course."
Spock stood up. "Captain, I highly advise against beaming down. It would be only logical to heed the Miralian's word. After all, he is the ruler."
Kirk sighed dramatically. "Spock, what is our mission?"
"To observe the M-class planets in this system for unusual data points, Captain."
"Affirmative. Starr, check the data points on the planet below, please."
"Yes, Captain." Starr turned to her screen and began keying in the coordinates rapidly. "Captain, many of these are emitting odd signals. It doesn't seem right at all."
Kirk smirked at Spock. "Can we observe these 'unusual data points' without beaming down, Spock?"
"No, Captain. But it would be logical to -"
"Cool it with the logic, Spock. We have a mission, and if it means defying a planet's ruler, well ..." Kirk's blue eyes flashed, daring Spock to challenge him.
Spock was not afraid. "We were also told not to interfere with a planet's culture or politics."
"And we won't." Kirk stood, grinning. "Like Starr said, we'll be quick." He began naming a team to go with him.
Starr watched her captain as he gestured and talked. Something about him captured her attention. Her heart fluttered in her chest every time she looked at his bright blue eyes. And "Captain Kirk" flowed off her tongue so nicely ...
"Starr Kennedy."
Her name shook Starr out of her thoughts as she looked up at the captain. It took her a moment to realize she had been picked to beam down with the team. She grinned at the small honor, all thoughts but professional ones of Kirk floating away from her mind. You're a part of the Enterprise crew now, she reminded herself. You don't have time for frivolity, especially not men. Besides, you've got more important things to worry about.
Kirk quickly finished, and Spock promptly stood to speak. "Captain, I strongly advise against this. It is highly illogical."
"Since when have I ever done anything logical, Spock?"
Despite herself, Starr grinned.
Me: So anyway, some of you are probably thinking, "WHERE'S THE ACTION!? AND THE ROMANCE!?" Well, hold your horses, peoples, we'll get there soon enough. No (REAL, TRUE) love story happens overnight! And now that all that is over, I feel like I'm forgetting something... wait a minute. I'm forgetting something. THE SILENCE ARE HERE! O.O
Starr: CHARACTER RANTS! XD
Me: *forgets about Silence* Oh, yeah! Right!
Caroline: HELLO, EVERYONE! *bows at the waist*
Jim: *yawning* Why're we here again?
Caroline: *screaming* CHARACTER RANTS!
Jim: *rubs ears* Stop screaming!
Caroline: I can't! AAAAAAAAAH!
Me: And neither can I! EEEEEEEEEEE!
Starr: *covers ears* And PLEASE explain why you are screaming!?
Caroline: It's because we're updating this story!
Jim: So?
Caroline: So EVERYTHING!
Me: And it's about time, too. Again, that was my fault. Sorry, everyone. *wince*
Starr: You should be. A good Starfleet officer doesn't procrastinate!
Me: -_-*moves hand and talks ridiculously high* Yada yada yada, Starfleet officers don't procrastinate!
Jim: *bursts into laughter*
Caroline: Bwahahahaha-well, I'd be a rubbish Starfleet officer. XD
Me: Unfortunately, as would I. Ugh, I'm so BORED!
Sherlock: BORED! *shoots the wall*
Starr: *blinks* Who's that!?
Me: SHERLOCK, GET BACK IN YOUR FANDOM!
Caroline: Uh-oh...
Jim: Gun. He's shooting a gun. *smiles maniacally* I wanna join!
Caroline: Oh, no you don't! BOOOONES!
Starr: O_O I'm scared.
Me: He's a psychopath. You should be.
Sherlock: I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research. *bang*
Me: Seriously, WHO LET HIM IN THE STAR TREK ROOM OF OUR MIND PALACE!?
Jim: *shrugs*
Leonard: This. Place. Is. Messy.
Caroline: You think? THERE ARE TOO MANY FANDOMS RUNNING AROUND!
Jim: What are you talking about? There's only two. -_-
Caroline: Sherlock counts as five more. XD
Me: It's so weird! I haven't even watched the show and I'm already obsessed! Should I be worried? Bones, please test me for insanity.
Starr: You don't need a checkup to know you're insane, Amy.
Me: *sticks out tongue at Starr*
Leonard: Hmm...fangirling, obsession...going on a Pinning spree? I think those are the typical symptoms of being a fangirl.
Caroline: ...I think we all knew that, Bones.
Leonard: Surrounded by fangirls...God help me.
Me: Bones, it's obvious I'm a fangirl. I need to know if I'm INSANE. There's a difference.
Starr: Not to me! Do I get a say here?
Me: *winks at Caroline* Nope. *elbows Starr into Jim*
Leonard: ...insane is a synonym to fangirl in my book.
Caroline: *grins and coughs, shoving Jim subtly towards Starr*
Starr: Ow! Amy, what in the ... *turns and looks into Kirk's eyes* Um ... ahem ...
Me: *grins*
Caroline: Wait a minute! Nope! *throws sheet over Jim and Starr*
Me: Aww! Oh, well, THAT will come soon enough. :D
Starr: What will?
Me: Wibbly wobbly timey wimey! :D
Caroline: SSSH! Spoilers, geez!
Me: You sound like River. XD
Jim: What spoilers?
Caroline and me: NOTHING!
Starr: O.o
Me: Well, um, gotta run! Before any more spoilers come along! *flashes Vulcan hand sign* Live long and prosper, everyone, and may the Force be with you always!
Caroline: Bye!
